| COVID-19 Update and 2020 LT100 MTB Deferred | I need to determine if I defer my invitation to re-register for the Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike Race another year beyond 2021. Given my knowledge of the vaccines in development I am leaning to a 2022 race date. While there is a promising vaccine from Pfizer which appears to be ~ 90 percent effective, I know the delivery to the general population is well into 2021. It will take a significant amount of time to distribute the vaccine and the leading candidate requires two doses to achieve a protective effect.There are a lot logistical hurdles with ultra cold storage and vast amount of PPE required to distribute the vaccine.
While we wait for a new season of Leadville Race Series events, here are some podcasts to keep you motvated by Wesley Sandoval who broke the record for the Leadman Race in 2016, me [Leadman 1st place in 2007], Ken Chlouber race founder.
At the end of 2019 I began formulating my goals for 2020 and of course completing my 14th Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike Race figured heavily in my athletic goals. I typically break up goals for the year along lines of professional [learning, training and experiences in emergency management], personal sub-divided into athletic and other personal development goals—topics I wanted to study, books to read and so on…I did not anticipate COVID-19 derailing my racing season. It is not that it came as a surprise since I had spent over a year preparing for a pandemic exercise in 2017, but a pandemic in 2020 was not on my calendar.
I just deferred the 2020 TL100 race until 2021 since I will be involved in the response and recovery aspects of COVID-19 throughout this year as well as addressing the consequences of wildfires, flash floods and severe weather [unfortunately, disaster do not take a break during a pandemic]. I am hopeful that our community, nation and globe will have COVID-19 under some degree of control by summer 2021 allowing for mass gatherings and sporting events.
I had resumed a weigh training program in the fall of 2019 as part of my overall plan to ride a solid sub-10-hour time which I had not done for many years and two hip replacements ago. Squats, deadlift and thrusters were and are in my plan to increase leg strength and moving 3000 feet lower meant I could ride almost year around and only about 6 weeks of fat bike on snow versus Leadville which had significant snow until mid-June last year.
Today’s NEW NORMAL is social distancing, ubiquitous mask wearing, and no large gatherings. As of May 1, 2020, the public health order in Colorado mandates gatherings of no more than 10. If containment measures and social distancing work well, the directive will possibly allow for gatherings of up to 250 with appropriate social distancing.
Vaccine development is a lengthy process, and while there have been advancements in laboratory techniques and science, there still is no way to speed the human body in developing antibodies. This means our new normal will be with us for a long time—anywhere from eighteen months to several years. In the meantime, possible pharmaceutical treatments hold the promise of mitigating the effects of COVID-19, but certainly not protecting the population.
This article by Thomas Pueyo provides insight into what the next couple of years will most likely look like: Coronavirus: Out of Many, One What the US Federal Government and the States Should Do to Fight the Coronavirus,
COVID-19 will fundamentally change our society, and in ways we probably are not seeing now and cannot anticipate in the future. Several years of social distancing will by necessity alter any gatherings over 10 people, and this certainly extends to athletic events and especially endurance and ultra- endurance events.
Beyond the requirements of social distancing, suppression of the immune system is of great concern to me personally, and should be to future event organizers. This brings into question how any large-scale race will be conducted in the next couple of years. Maybe we will move to time-trail events in which athletes—released one at a time at predetermined intervals—race against the course.
Given the time frame for return to non-social distancing I need to re-think my 2020 season. I was thinking about a series of personal challenges…as I develop these ideas more I will document in this space. MTF.
| | 2020 Gear Reviews and Advice:: | Camping | Hiking: Altimeters, Backpacks, Backpacks-Large, GPS, Hiking Boots, Hydration Packs, Men's Pants, Sleeping Bags, Pads, Socks, Sunglasses, Trekking poles, and Tents
Climbing: Altimeters, Harnesses, Headlamps, Carabineers
Cycling: Bike Lights, Bike Tools, Bike Trainers, 26 Wheels, 29 Wheels
Paddle Sports-Kayaks: Recreational Kayaks, Sit-on-Top Kayaks, Touring Kayaks, Kayak Paddles: Performance
Kayaks Misc.: Accessories, Life vests (PFD), and Racks
Snow Sports: Gloves, Goggles, Hats, Nordic Tuning, Skis-Alpine, Skis-Telemark, Skis-Nordic Touring, Ski Poles, Snowshoes, Snowboards, Sunglasses, Bindings, Men's Snowboard Boots, Women's snowboard boots, Men's Down Jacket, Women's Down Jacket
Trail running: Heart Rate Monitors, GPS, Men's Base Layer, Men's Shoes, Men's Fleece jacket, Men's Soft Shell Jackets, Men's Shorts, Socks, Sunglasses, Suunto Watches, Women's Base Layer, Women's Trail Shoes, Women's Fleece Jacket, Women's Soft Shell Jackets, Women's shorts
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